As I sit & look at our boy, I realize that his face is getting much whiter.
And he's moving a little less fluidly than he did before.
OMG, I think to myself, he's more than 10 now.
He's been a part of our family for so long that I can't remember life without him.
For so many years now he's met us at the door, bouncing & with his paws raised, a smile on his face, joy in his eyes.
He's put up with numerous other rescues coming & going...some joining his pack permanently.
I remember when we got him. We went out to the rescue organization "just to look".
I was owned by 2 whippets & hubby wanted a dog of his own.
I was not all that excited by the thoughts of a greyhound....not against the idea, but certainly lukewarm.
There were close to 60 dogs at the rescue...boys on one side, girls on the other.
A "smallish" male, a red brindle, zeroed in on hubby & made it plain that he was enamoured.
Adopting was much easier than I had expected, pick a dog, pay the money & leave with the dog.
We found out after the dog chose us that his racing name was "Deadly Storm".
Fate??
We have only 2 pieces of furniture in the house that are dog "no go" zones.
A suede sofa & love seat in the formal living room.
There are dog beds, pads, sheepskins all over the rest of the house.
We have a rec room full of couches, papasans, bean bag chairs & futons.
All for the dogs.
And it's the only other room with a fireplace....so the dogs can toast their paws.
We share our queen size bed with all 5....they usually get the best spots on the mattress, leaving hubby & I scrambling for what little space is left on the edges.
But the dogs are comfortable, safe & warm...tucked in down the middle of the bed & up against the footboard.
I can't remember the last time that I went to the bathroom on my own.
Or had a shower without a head or two being poked in behind the curtain.
But Merlin has decided that the "no go" suede loveseat is where he wants to spend his days.
After numerous attempts at convincing him otherwise, I finally gave in.
I threw some sheets & blankets over my prized possession, opened the blinds so that the heat of the sun would fully cover the loveseat & handed it over to my boy.
After 7+ years of giving to us, who was I to gainsay him this one joy??
He's over on the futon behind me now, tucked under a wool blanket, cuddled up with our 11 pound crested.
Eyes closed, the occasional moan, a quiet "snuffle".
I've recently realized that he has more history than future.
That sometime in the upcoming years he won't be sprawled on my suede furniture, that we won't be met at the door by 70 pounds of bouncing greyhound.
We don't "shush" his excited barks anymore....someday we won't be greeted by them.
I grasp his almost all white head now and kiss him more often.
I don't want miss a chance to show him our love & our appreciation that he chose to share his retirement with us those many years ago.
Storm
:- )
And he's moving a little less fluidly than he did before.
OMG, I think to myself, he's more than 10 now.
He's been a part of our family for so long that I can't remember life without him.
For so many years now he's met us at the door, bouncing & with his paws raised, a smile on his face, joy in his eyes.
He's put up with numerous other rescues coming & going...some joining his pack permanently.
I remember when we got him. We went out to the rescue organization "just to look".
I was owned by 2 whippets & hubby wanted a dog of his own.
I was not all that excited by the thoughts of a greyhound....not against the idea, but certainly lukewarm.
There were close to 60 dogs at the rescue...boys on one side, girls on the other.
A "smallish" male, a red brindle, zeroed in on hubby & made it plain that he was enamoured.
Adopting was much easier than I had expected, pick a dog, pay the money & leave with the dog.
We found out after the dog chose us that his racing name was "Deadly Storm".
Fate??
We have only 2 pieces of furniture in the house that are dog "no go" zones.
A suede sofa & love seat in the formal living room.
There are dog beds, pads, sheepskins all over the rest of the house.
We have a rec room full of couches, papasans, bean bag chairs & futons.
All for the dogs.
And it's the only other room with a fireplace....so the dogs can toast their paws.
We share our queen size bed with all 5....they usually get the best spots on the mattress, leaving hubby & I scrambling for what little space is left on the edges.
But the dogs are comfortable, safe & warm...tucked in down the middle of the bed & up against the footboard.
I can't remember the last time that I went to the bathroom on my own.
Or had a shower without a head or two being poked in behind the curtain.
But Merlin has decided that the "no go" suede loveseat is where he wants to spend his days.
After numerous attempts at convincing him otherwise, I finally gave in.
I threw some sheets & blankets over my prized possession, opened the blinds so that the heat of the sun would fully cover the loveseat & handed it over to my boy.
After 7+ years of giving to us, who was I to gainsay him this one joy??
He's over on the futon behind me now, tucked under a wool blanket, cuddled up with our 11 pound crested.
Eyes closed, the occasional moan, a quiet "snuffle".
I've recently realized that he has more history than future.
That sometime in the upcoming years he won't be sprawled on my suede furniture, that we won't be met at the door by 70 pounds of bouncing greyhound.
We don't "shush" his excited barks anymore....someday we won't be greeted by them.
I grasp his almost all white head now and kiss him more often.
I don't want miss a chance to show him our love & our appreciation that he chose to share his retirement with us those many years ago.
Storm
:- )